The Black Box

backpack.
    Before leaving, he prepared his room, sliding the bed against one wall to create an open center space under the ceiling light. He then moved the table from the kitchenette under the light. His last move was to take the shades off the two bedside lamps and position the lights so they would shine toward the face of the individual who sat on the left side of the table.
    At the door he reached into the back pocket of his pants to make sure he still had the room key. He felt the plastic fob attached to the key and something else. He pulled out DetectiveMendenhall’s business card and realized it had been in his pants since he found it waiting for him on his desk.
    The card prompted him to think about calling Mendenhall to see if she had gone to San Quentin yesterday as she had told Hannah she would. He dismissed the idea, deciding to stay focused on the wave of momentum the call from Charlotte Jackson had provided. He pocketed the card again and opened the door. He made sure the “Do Not Disturb” sign remained in place and pulled the door closed.
    It was an investigative standard. The best and fastest way to break a conspiracy was to identify the weakest link in the chain and find a way to exploit it. When one link was broken, the chain would come loose.
    Most often the weakest link was a person. Bosch believed he was looking at a twenty-year-old conspiracy that involved at least four people, possibly five. One was dead, two were wrapped in the protections of power, money, and the law. That left John Francis Dowler and Reginald Banks.
    Dowler was out of town and Bosch didn’t want to wait for him to come back. He had speed and he wanted to keep it. That left Banks, not only by default but because Bosch believed it had been Banks who had made the call ten years ago to check on the case. That was an indication to Bosch of worry. Of fear. And those were signs of weakness that Bosch could exploit.
    After an early lunch at the In-N-Out Burger on Yosemite Avenue and then a stop at a nearby Starbucks, Bosch drove back to Crows Landing Road and found the same spot at the curb from which he could watch Reginald Banks at work.
    At first he didn’t see Banks at the desk that he had occupied the day before. The other salesman was in place at his desk but no Banks. But Bosch waited patiently, and twenty minutes later Banks appeared, coming from a back room in the dealership and carrying a cup of coffee. He sat down, tapped the space bar on his keyboard and started making a series of phone calls, each time after running a finger across his computer screen. Bosch guessed he was cold-calling former customers, seeing if they were ready to trade that old tractor in.
    Bosch watched for another half hour, working on his story as he watched. When the other salesman got busy with a live customer, Bosch made his move. He got out of his car and walked across the street to the dealership. He stepped into the showroom and moved to the all-terrain vehicle closest to where Banks sat at his desk talking on the phone.
    Harry started circling the machine, which was a two-seat four-wheeler with a small flatbed and a roll bar. The price tag was on a molded plastic stand right next to it. As Bosch expected, Banks soon hung up his phone.
    “You looking for a Gator?” he called from his desk.
    Bosch turned and looked at him as if noticing him for the first time.
    “I might be,” he said. “You don’t have a used one of these, do you?”
    Banks got up and came over. He was wearing a sport coat and a tie pulled loose at the collar. He stood next to Bosch and looked at the ATV as if assessing it for the first time.
    “This is the top-of-the-line XUV model. You got all-wheel drive, fuel injection, four-stroke engine so it’s nice and quiet . . . and let’s see, adjustable shocks, disc brakes, and thebest damn warranty you’ll ever get on one of these bad boys. I mean everything you need’s right there. It’s as unstoppable as a tank but you get John Deere comfort and reliability. By the way, I’m Reggie Banks.”
    He put his hand out and Bosch shook it.
    “Harry.”
    “Okay, Harry, nice to meet you. You want to write it up?”
    Bosch chuckled like a nervous buyer.
    “I know it’s got what I want. I just don’t know if I need it to be brand-new. I didn’t realize these things cost so much. I could almost buy a car.”
    “Worth every penny, though. Plus we got a rebate program that’ll take some of the sting off.”
    “Yeah,